U.S. Ignores W.T.O Internet Poker Ruling.

In 2004 Antigua sued the U.S. in the World Trade Organization complaining that federal attempts to prevent financial institutions from transferring funds to internet gambling sites violated WTO violated international trade standards. Antigua won when the WTO ruled US’s casino policies violated international trade standards since casino gambling was allowed in America

In this case, we came to the conclusion that the US measures at issue
prohibit the cross-border supply of gambling and betting services in the United
States in a manner inconsistent with the GATS. We so decided, not because the
GATS denies Members such a right but, rather, because we found, inter alia,
that, in the particular circumstances of this case, the measures at issue were
inconsistent with the United States' scheduled commitments and the relevant
provisions of the GATS.

The United States has failed to comply with this ruling prompting a complaint to the WTO

The government of Antigua and Barbuda has sent a written complaint to US
Trade representative Rob Portman, claiming that he had exerted no effort to
modify America’s online casino gaming policy to comply with the WTO ruling

This is hypocritical behavior for a nation that proposes to believe in the rule of law.


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UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE RISES FROM THE DEAD

"We're going to have universal health care when I'm president - there's no doubt
about that. We're going to get it done." Hillary Clinton

The ‘Mommy State’ may get a real ‘muther’ in ‘08, and she promises to nurse this ailing nation back to health. Prepare to bend over and grab your ankles. It has been said "Democracy will only last until the people realize they can vote themselves Bread and Circuses," Clinton has latched onto the idea political power can be achieved by bribing the voters with their own money. It’s a great scam and the Boobwazee is lapping it up.

William F. Buckley said, after the fall of the Berlin wall "The only Communists left are residing in American Universities." Now it seems they have slipped the bonds of ivy-covered walls and once again are infesting the political system. Clinton’s statement "We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good" would make Karl Marx proud.

"We've got to get the costs under control. Why would we put more money into
a dysfunctional system?"

This reeks of price control and a complete takeover of the health system by Washington. Already physicians are refusing to take on new Medicare and Medicaid patients because government payments fail to cover the costs of their treatment. Insurance companies use Government reimbursement rates to set their own. The trend of lowering compensation for medical services will eventually result in poorer health care for all of us. You get what you pay for, and Washington can only afford a second rate health system.

This part of a trend back towards more governmental aid for the poor.

"Increased public support for the social safety net, signs of growing public
concern about income inequality" Trends in Political Values and Core Attitudes:
1987-2007 The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press

The report goes on to say a majority of Americans still believe there is too much government aid for the poor.

69% agree that "poor people have become too dependent on government assistance
programs." Still, the number in agreement has been declining over the past
decade.

This decline is bad news for those of us who believe Government is not the solution to lives problems and is often the cause. The culture of ‘Human Rights’ is reasserting it self into the American political system.

"To believe that "human rights" might be positive rights is to believe that
one part of humanity must be obligated to another because of some arbitrarily
defined need or want enforced by the state. Taken to its extreme, that describes
a philosophy which would easily embrace slavery as a viable state, depending on
the obligation defined".

Bruce McQuain QandO magazine

Ronald Reagan began the diminution of the ‘Mommy State’ now the pendulum seems to be swing back towards greater ‘state-control’ of society.

On Line Poker, Our Game, Our Right

The fight the right to play online poker continues. The Poker Players Alliance has enlisted former Senator Alfonse D’Amato as chairman in it’s fight to repeal the ban on Americans playing poker over the internet. In it’s lobbying effort the Alliance is stressing the following:

Poker is one of the great American pastimes. The game has been enjoyed by presidents, generals, Supreme Court Justices, Members of Congress and average Americans for more than 150 years.

Poker is a game with a predominance of skill. Like chess, poker is a "thinking man's" game which relies on mathematics, psychology and money management.

Poker is a source of charity. In 2006, millions of dollars were raised for local and national charities through poker tournaments. One event in D.C. featuring 15 Members of Congress raised more than $288,000 to fight cancer.

Billions of tax revenue is being lost. According to an economic analysis, 3.3 billion in federal tax revenue and addition 1 billion in state tax revenue could be raised if the federal government were to regulate Internet poker.

75 percent of Americans oppose banning online poker. According to national polling, a vast majority of Americans oppose federal efforts to ban online poker.

Supporting an online poker ban can cost you an election. Exit polling has shown and the national media has noted that a leading advocate to ban Internet poker in the 109th Congress was negatively impacted by his leadership on the issue.

Those of us who love poker, or hate government interference in our lives can help by joining the PPA, it’s free, and writing your Congressional Representatives asking this restriction on your freedom be repealed.

War and the Press

The reporting that supported the Invasion of Iraq is not surprising. Jingoism has been the hallmark of the press from the days of the Revolution. "Cry Havoc, and loose the dogs of war" has been the press motto from the beginning.

The Mexican American war was trumpeted by the press as part of America’‘s "Manifest Destiny" and started under the pretext of a border dispute along the Texas Mexican border.

Before the Spanish American war, William Randolph Hearst sent a reporter to Havana. When the reporter sent a message telling Hearst there was no evidence of war. The newspaper magnet sent a return message, "You provide the reporting and I’ll provide the war" Hearst was in a circulation war with Joseph Pulitzer and between the two, America finally did start the conflict.

British propaganda charging the German Army with nonexistent atrocities was printed without challenge in the American press. The Brits had cut the transoceanic cable from Germany to the U. S. so there was nothing to counter the most loathsome charges of Germans raping Belgium women and skewering their babies on bayonets. None of this was true, but it created a demand for war against the loathsome Huns. Wilson resisted this effort until the torpedoing of the Lusitania, then America entered "The war to end all wars"

Isolationism couldn’t keep the American press from championing the beleaguered British and its hero Winston Churchill, or FDR from secretly and illegally helping England during it’s most desperate hours. World War Two was the one truly just war fought by the United States, but it took the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor before the public would support it. Had Hitler not declared war on America, FDR may have had difficulty convincing the public to fight Germany.

By the time North Korea invaded the South, America was in the throws of Cold War Hysteria, so there was no need for a propaganda blitz to get support for American participation. We entered the conflict armed with a United Nations resolution, and the support of the West.

Our entry into Vietnam was gradual until the action in the Gulf of Tonkin gave LBJ the excuse to escalate our involvement. The reality is the first attack did happen. One of the Torpedo Boats that participated in it is displayed in a museum south of Hanoi. The second was caused by an error in the interpretations of radar readings. The press supported the war until disillusioned by the Tet offensive. Then with a growing anti war movement at home the media turned against the war forcing Johnson to forgo running for a second term.(The story of Tet is fascinating and not known by Americans even today) Nixon had a plan, so secret, that he didn’t know what it was. We finally got out, losing our first war.

The Bush administration exaggerated many of the reasons for invading Iraq, but they had reason to believe Saddam did have chemical and biological weapons. The press went along until WMD was not found and then turned against the war.

All these wars are examples of the adage "Truth is the first causality of war"

The Resurrection of Al Gore

Former Vice President Al Gore’s triumphal return to the political stage, riding the wave of global warming hysteria may be the start of his run for the Presidency. Gore denies he is considering the run, has not raised money and has no formal organization. That does not mean he will not be the Democratic nominee.

Washington Post media critic Howard Kurtz points out “The logic of psychology and even history suggests that Gore should run. And if he should run, it is hard to believe that a man who has organized most of his adult life around public service and the pursuit of the presidency won’t in the end actually do it.”

The scenario is not hard to imagine. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are presently in a ‘fight to the death’ running for the nomination. They are constantly unloading on each other. As the fight continues their negatives will continue to rise. By the time of the contention both will be so wounded they will be out of consideration. In comparison the rest of the field are pygmies. What are the Democrats to do?

In comes Al Gore riding the “White Horse of Giea” to save the day. Gore has a lot of love among Democrats who believe he won the 2000 Presidential election only to have it stolen by the Supreme Court. He would be nominated by acclamation.

There is precident for this. Wendell Wilkie used the same strategy to garner the Republican nomination in 1940. He lost to the sitting President, Franklin Roosevelt. Gore would not have Wilkie’s disadvantage. He would be running against a Republican seeking the office for the first time. With name recognition, a united party and it’s allies behind him, Gore has an excellent chance of winning the Election.

Richard Nixon returned to life after years of wandering in the political wasteland after his defeats for President and Governor of California, to win the Presidency. There is no reason Gore can’t do the same.

Jihad against Internet gambling

The Department of Justice has launched a Jihad against Internet gambling. Executives of overseas casinos have been arrested, causing many sites and e-wallets to withdraw from the U.S. market. The justification is, it’s for your own good.

Government has no business protecting you from your self. If you are a looser learn how to become a winner, quit, or continue losing. That’s free will.

"Never give a Sucker an Even Break, Never wise up a Chump" P.T. Barnum.

That’s the American way. Washington has been following this dictate since the day it was formed.

World War Two and Iraq

After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor until 1943 fear and pessimism were rampant among the Military and general public. Troops were rushed to the West Coast as the Military and Public waited for an expected Japanese Invasion.

During the time before the Battle of Midway the Japanese conquered the Philippines, the Dutch oil producing colonies, the American territories of Guam, Wake Island, and threatened Australia. The progress of the war looked bleak.

This hysteria brought about the arrest of some Americans of German and Italian decent and the Interment of more than a hundred thousand ethnic Japanese American citizens.
Today this situation would have lead to outcries from the Public and Congress to negotiate an end of the war. This was the hope of the Japanese High Command, who knew in the long run they could not win.

Fortunately the public was so angered by the sneak attack, anyone proposing that course of action probably would have been lynched.

That time is analogous to the situation in Iraq today. This War is not going as well as the Administration predicted. The American Public, bombarded by a tsunami of propaganda against the Iraq Invasion by the Bush haters and Politicians seeing an opportunity to enhance their reputations, have turned against the attempt to bring a semblance of Democracy to that woe begotten land.

Much of the opposition charges that Bush and Vice President Cheney lied about the presence of Weapons of Mass Destruction to launch us into an illegal war. This ignores that every intelligence service of note across the world believed that Saddam had WMD. The list included The United Nations, British, German, Russian, Israeli and Egyptian agencies. Just before the invasion Egypt warned the Bush Administration to expect attacks from Iraqi Chemical and Biological weapons.

American political opposition to the invasion has emboldened the Jihadists and frightened Iraqi Citizens into forming Militias. Fanatics are using the turmoil to foment fighting between the Sunni and Shiite sects of Islam in a successful effort to start a civil war.

Many of these problems can be attributed to the failure of President Bush to explain to the American Public the cost of invading Iraq. The Administration ignored the realities of the occupation, which would take up to a decade to be successful, Instead they presented the "Rosy Scenario" of a quick elimination of Saddam, followed by a rush to democracy by people who had no experience with self rule.

The bottom line is we liberated more than thirty million people from an oppressive Dictator who Raped and Murdered his own people and neighbors at will. That not a bad outcome.

Fairness Doctrine

If you don’t like the speech you are hearing, it’s easier to ban it, than respond to it. This seems to be behind the attempt to bring back the "Fairness Doctrine," by the Democratic controlled Congress.

Liberals have failed dismally in the battle of ideas in the media. "Air America," (which ironically was the name of the CIA-Operated airline during the Vietnam War), has filed for bankruptcy. Generally, Liberal Commentators have lower ratings than their Conservative opponents. They can’t seem to figure out why, so they blame it on the gullibility of the American public, instead of their bankrupt policies and lack of humor. You may not agree with Rush Limbaugh, but you have to admit he can be hilarious.

When the only sources of over the air News were the three Television networks you might argue the Constitutionality of "The Fairness Doctrine," now with a plethora of information outlets, it is an obvious violation of the freedom of speech guaranteed by the 1st amendment.

IT’S NOT ABOUT THE CRIME, IT’S ABOUT THE COVERUP, STUPID

"Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it" – George Santayana

It is amazing how many Politicians can’t seem to grasp this simple concept. Time and time again when trouble looms, the first reaction is to hide it in the hope it will simply go away. The problem probably isn’t illegal, but only embarrassing, It’s the cover up which gets people in legal trouble.

One of the best examples is the Watergate scandal that brought down President Nixon. While the administration committed many crimes, Nixon may have saved his presidency by coming clean early and admitting he had committed errors in judgment. Others still would have been convicted of their crimes, but Nixon’s apparent honesty may have saved the president. Instead he participated in the cover-up that resulted in his impeachment and resignation.

Numerous officials have gotten into trouble when they hide incompetence to cover their posterior. When investigated they dodge, weave and prevaricate in an effort to keep their reputation. If they do this when questioned by Law Enforcement, they become open to charges of Obstruction of Justice. Saving Face has landed more than one official in court, and "Club Fed"

Kenneth Star could not prove the Clintons broke the law during the "White Water" investigation, but when the President lied under oath about his marital infidelities, he faced impeachment. Again it was not the president’s philandering that got him in trouble. It was his lying about it.

Now we are being treated to Scooter Libby’s trial. No law was broken, and it seems everybody who was anybody in Washington knew about Valery Plame and her husband Joe Wilson. Although it is now known, the leak was an innocent comment by Richard Armitage, Libby’s testimony before the grand jury has him in the dock, facing perjury charges.

It seems Washington is unable to learn from these mistakes, so we will continue to see legal action against individuals who did not break the Law, but lied about what they were doing to avoid embarrassment.

Humans and Global Warming

The world is going through a warming period, There deemed to be conscience on that. The important question should be what, if any, of the warming, is caused by human activity.

Political Correctness blames it all on the "Evil Humans and Corporate greed," the evidence does not seem to support that contention. This week "The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change" blamed the rise in temperature on human activity, however that report was the Political evaluation of the scientific data. The scientific report will be released in a few months.

Despite the alarmist tone of this report, other studies seem, to contradicts it's findings. A recent U.N. study found that cow flatulence contributes as much atmospheric contamination as all human transportation. As for carbon dioxide, decaying biomass produces 3-hundred giga tons per year, while humans contribute just over one giga ton, or one third of one percent, of CO2 emissions.

While it is not true, supporters claim there is a "Scientific Consensus" that Humans are the cause of the warming. The problem with a consensus is they are rarely correct. Scientific Consensus has at different times contended the Sun revolved around the Earth, Bleeding cured disease, Whites were the superior race, and women could be possessed by the Devil and become Witches. The list of consensus that later were proved wrong is endless.

Despite the political posturing. It would be better to wait for real evidence of human influence before making changes that will cause adverse effects on the quality of life.

CO2 citation: Testimony before House Subcommittee in which both supporters and opponents of the human effect on global warming agreed on these figures.

The Road to Hell is paved with good intentions. The Road to Liberty is paved by the Constitution

Those good intentions are what has lead to our present situation in Iraq. Long before George Bush became President, a group of Democrats, disgruntled with Middle East policy, broke from their party. Now known as Neocons, they formulated a policy to bring Democracy to the region.

Iraq was the logical starting point. It was a secular country, seemingly modern with a large middle class, the most "Western" country in Mesopotamia. It was a good target, because it was ruled by a Despotic Dictator, who had committed atrocities against his neighbors and his own citizens. Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait only strengthened the case for his removal.

The attacks on September 11, 2001 provided the justification for the invasion of Afghanistan which had hosted training camps for the attackers. While there was no connection between Iraq and 9-11, a strong case could be made for removing Saddam Hussein. The plans long formulated by the Neocons were put into action and Hussein was removed.

The Bush administrations had presented the American people with the "Rosy Scenario" likening the invasion to freeing France during World War Two, complete with cheering crowds welcoming their liberators. In the first days it looked like it would succeed. Then through bad luck and bad planning it all fell apart.

"Inability to carry on the struggle can, in practice, be replaced by two
other grounds for making peace: the first is the improbability of victory; the
second is its unacceptable cost." Carl von Clausewitz

This is the problem we face today. With growing opposition to the war, Bush is like the man who jumped on a bed of cactus plants. When he was asked "why," he could only answer "It seemed like a good idea at the time"

All this points to a basic flaw in Americas conduct of war since World War Two. Since then both the Executive and Legislative branches have waged war on an ad hoc basis. While politically expedient, the use of Congressional Resolutions has violated the Constitution by allowing military conflict without a formal declaration of war. A Congressional Resolution leads to uncertainty and givesammunition to the war’s opponents.

The Korean War was fought under a Resolution by the United Nations and not the Declaration required by the Constitution. Eventually public opinion turned against the endeavor. Vietnam was fought under the "Gulf of Tonkin" resolution with the same results. And now we are facing public doubt and resistance over the Iraq conflict.

A Democratic nation cannot sustain a long conflict without the support of its citizens. The last fifty years have shown Congressional Resolutions are not sufficient to preserve public support. Only a formal Declaration of War can do that. Taking the politically expedient passage of a resolution is the formula for failure.

Iraq and Yugoslavia, similar problems, similar dangers

Iraq under the Dictatorship of Saddam Hussein was analogous to Yugoslavia under the rule of strongman Tito. Both dictators used force to prevent sectarian fighting among the countries religious and tribal institutions. For centuries these groups have been warring over religious and tribal rivalries. Only a despot could keep them from each other’s throats.

When Tito died, there was no institution to prevent Yugoslavia from disintegrating into chaos, ethnic cleansing and the death of thousands. After long Diplomatic debate, NATO and the United States finally had to step in to end the slaughter. The Soviet Union tried to meddle in the chaos, but was stopped by NATO and American resolve. Although Yugoslavia has dissolved into its ethnic regions, Western troops have been forced to occupy the place for a decade and a half to prevent the resumption of genocide.

Iraq’s Hussein was mortal. When he "Shuffled off this mortal coil" there was no one to succeed him. His sons were degenerate hedonists unable to replace their father, and the Baathist party dared not formulate a plan for succession. Sooner or later Iraq was destined to go the way of Yugoslavia, degenerating into sectarian and tribal warfare.

America’s forcible removable of Hussein only hastened this situation. We had not learned the lesson of the Balkans so Iraq is going through the same chaos that plagued Yugoslavia in the early years after Tito’s death. It took some time to put an end to fighting there, and it will take time to end it in Iraq. Like in Yugoslavia, we are stuck to this "tar baby" with no way out. Our only options are the Yugoslavian model of a long term occupation, or leave and watch the genocide as we are doing in Darfour.

We face a "Hobson’s choice" which likely will be made by political expediency rather then the right thing to do. The present debate in Congress bodes ill for Iraq and it’s neighbors. Rancor between the two parties may lead to a deadlock resulting in delay until the next Presidential election. If that occurs, the toll of death and destruction will continue unabated.
The longer the situation remains in doubt, countries who believe they can gain from instability, such as Iran, will continue to meddle in the conflict. That could be the spark that sets the entire region ablaze.

If Mesopotamia explodes, the economy of the West, which depends on a continued flow of oil, will suffer serious damage. Europe will be the most affected by a shortage of petroleum. Russia is already flexing its energy muscles by blackmailing neighbors like the Ukraine. A cut off of oil from the Middle East would give Russians the clout to extend its influence into Western Europe. It is questionable if the European Union would have the will to resist Kremlin demands. That would result in the resumption of the Cold War.

Xenophobia

America is going through another cycle of Xenophobia, this time centered on Hispanics and the Southern Border. Every generation or so something terrible happens, and the natural scapegoat are ̃Those other guys, the aliens.'. This has been going on since before there was a United States of America.

During the Colonial period, minority religious families were shuffled off to the interior, away from "Gods People", and closer to the heathen Indians. At one time "Irish need not apply.", followed by Italians, Eastern Europeans, and who can forget the "Yellow Peril".Time after time immigrants arrived, were despised, worked hard and finally were accepted by society, all except Black Folks, who didn't want to come here in the first place.

This Generations hysteria is centered on Hispanics coming across our Southern border. It's a group that is easily demonized, add 9/11, Terrorism and drugs and you scare the devil out of everybody. Every time in the past this has brought Political Demagoguery, Repression, and limitation of Civil Liberties. We are shown a tsunami of Brown poor people, Terrorists and Drugs pouring across an unguarded Southern border. and told, "Drastic action must be taken or the Country will be lost", another round of fear is created. It's a theme we have seen again and again throughout American history, and it's getting old.

The reality is, for Terrorists, it's far easier to enter the United States from Canada than Mexico. South of the border, Islamists are scarcer than hens teeth. A Terrorist would stand out like Jessie Jackson at a Klan meeting. In multi-cultural Canada, as long as they ended their sentences with "Eh", terrorists would have no trouble blending in. Besides it's a lot easier to take a boat trip, or walk in the cool woods, where no one is watching, than cross the hot Sonoran desert with the Border Patrol waiting.

As long as there is a demand for drugs they will be supplied one way or another. If we can't even keep drugs out of prisons, how can we expect to keep them out of an entire nation.

The question is what to do about the people who are looking for work, willing to do low pay back breaking jobs no one else will fill. Studies show most immigrants are coming here looking for a job, and not Government benefits, as some charge.Lets face it we need these people. America is getting old, and needs new blood to pay for the baby boom, when it retires in the near future. Without them the Hotel Industry in California, Nevada, and much of America would be devastated. Crops would not be picked, food prices would skyrocket and a drastic labor shortage would harm the economy.

The problem is we need a system that matches Mexican workers with employers who need them. Until the 1960's we had the Bracero program for farm workers. It worked well, but was killed off by Political Correctness. The answer is not a Billion Dollar fence along the border, it would be far cheaper to set up employment agencies in border towns. They would conduct Police record checks, then match the honest workers with employers who need them here. To make this work, employers who hire illegal aliens outside the system would face tough and certain Draconian punishment, while using the employment system would be easy and economical. Employers would rush to join up, and jobs would dry up for those outside the system, giving them the choice, join the legal system or go home.Provisions should allow those here who have been honest contributors to the Nation, and others a pathway to permanent residence, and if they meet the requirements, eventual citizenship. This solves labor shortages here and gives Mexico a pressure valve for its unemployed workers, who only want an honest job.

In addition without the people crossing the border looking for work, it will be harder for Mules to smuggle drugs without being detected. There are simple, common sense, logical, solutions to the problem, however, unless the Media stops whipping up hysteria, they will never be considered.